CommunicationTranslation
by Meatball42
Summary: Jack discovers that there's been an error in communication.


Jack's returning from the firing range when he hears Martha's laughter spiraling through the main Hub. He slows down, enjoying the pleasant sound. That's when he gets a naughty idea and ends up creeping into his own office by the side entrance.

Ianto is saying something, his voice muffled, and Jack steps closer to the front door of his office, careful to stay out of sight. Martha seemed to have adopted Ianto as her new best friend ever since she arrived a few days ago and they've been spending lots of time together, talking and laughing, outside Jack's earshot. Not that Jack would have a problem with them spending time together, but he would be happier if they'd let him in on the fun.

Oh well. At least now he finally has a chance to scope out some of their gossip.

"I don't know…" Martha is saying. "Mickey's got this thing, he says when he was a kid his grandmother would always say goodbye to him in the mornings and go, 'Don't get in any trouble, cause your gran loves you and her heart can't take any stress!' Kept him on the straight and narrow, it did." She laughs. "And Tom's family is- God, they're so touchy-feely, it can be scary. 'Specially at Christmas."

"Yeah," Ianto says, a bit wistfully.

"My family mostly says 'luv you' in texts, with X's and O's afterwards" Martha says more quietly. "Or special occasions. Not too big on affection, though we've been getting better recently."

Ianto clears his throat. "My sister tries, but… we never talked much. And now it feels, forced, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Mickey and Tom and me, we're real affectionate, all the time. Ever since we settled down. Tom got us into it, practically every time someone says goodbye he has to say 'I love you'. But, you and Jack have something like that, right?"

She sounds like she's smiling. Jack can imagine her expression, bubbly with an unmistakable air of mischief. Martha may seem sweet, but Jack knows better.

"'Be safe,'" Ianto repeats the phrase Jack often says to him in place of goodbye.

"That's sweet!" Martha coos. Jack congratulates himself. "It's like your own secret message. That's so romantic."

"Hardly," Ianto barks, amused. Jack's smile drops a bit; he shuffles closer to the corner to hear better. "'I love you' is romantic. 'Be safe' is…" He thinks for several moments. Jack pictures his thoughtful expression, a cute frowny face with a forehead wrinkle. The image doesn't cheer him like it should.

"Comrades," Ianto decides. "Comrades-at-arms."

"Oh come on, it's obvious he loves you," Martha says cajolingly. Jack shakes his head, worrying.

There's a moment of silence, during which Jack thinks the worst. "Jack loves people that stand out from a crowd," Ianto says at last. "Not- beautiful people, necessarily, just… people who are special. People who shine."

"You shine, Ianto." Martha's voice sounds small and awkward.

There's an amused huff. Again, Jack can picture the self-depreciating smile. "I fade into the background. It's good," he insists, "for work. I'm dependable. That's good."

"But in love…" she asks.

"Jack needs me," Ianto says quietly. "That's enough."

Jack stays still, resisting the urge to turn and walk away. After a short while, Ianto's voice sounds again, this time filled with ironic amusement.  
"I guess I've gotten a bit morose," he laughs slightly. "Why don't you tell me the story of how Tom and Mickey met? You said it was long, but Jack's usually another half hour down there."

Martha laughs again, and the sound follows Jack as he goes back the way he came.

[*]

He knows better than to bring it up immediately. If he did, Ianto would connect the dots and assume he's mentioning it out of guilt or obligation. But a month later, Jack feels it's time to set this right.

Gwen's in the medical bay, looking through the disorganized cabinets for acetaminophen and Ianto's pulling on his coat, heading out to run the errands that keep the Hub feeling like home and running smoothly: groceries, cleaning supplies, food for the pets. Jack tugs him back in the middle of the platform for a kiss, which isn't entirely unusual these days. Gwen has started winking and making comments about the two of them, which makes Ianto uncomfortable. She hasn't noticed yet.

He waits until Ianto's accepted the kiss and turned to walk away before he says, very casually, "Love you."

Ianto trips over his own feet; Jack grins. When Ianto turns back to stare at him, he only nods toward the lift. "You going?"

"Yeah," Ianto says dazedly, and leaves.

Jack thinks his eyes were shining, just a bit.

[*]

**Author's Note: Credit where credit is due, this story would not be without my blatant theft of themes and lines from two fics, both of which y'all should just go read, and you'll love them much more than mine.**  
**The phrase 'Be safe' as a thing between Jack and Ianto is taken from soera's 'The Spirit of Torchwood', a truly wonderful story far above the level of this humble ficlet, which can be found at soera dot livejournal dot com dash 3502 dot html. 'Be Safe' there is actually analogized to 'As you wish' from the Princess Bride, but I changed the meaning for this. Or did I?! *michief eyebrows***  
**The painful yet fantastic fic that inspired me to write this was Helen Pattskyn's 'You Keep Me Warm At Night', which you should all go and read immediately. As in right now, right here: fanfiction dot net slash 4170439**


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